“Are you done or not?” Eveleigh yelled.
“Wait, I’m collecting money. Oh, what’s your name?” Chen Zhao was taking notes.
“Pete.”
“Okay, Pete, $200.”
“If you lose, you’ll pay us all, right?”
“Of course. You have so many people. I won’t even dare to not pay up, right?”
He collected more than $1,000. No one else made bets, so he put the money away.
He retreated to 30 meters away, jogged, sprinted, and jumped. He created an arc in the air and landed steadily in the sand.
“Seven point fifty-one meters.”
Everyone stared at him dumbfounded. No one moved.
“No, no way. You’re cheating.” Eveleigh couldn’t figure this out, so she reflexively thought that Chen Zhao was cheating. It wasn’t possible under everyone’s scrutiny though. “Did you step on the line?”
“Go look.”
The line was drawn in white paint. It was easy to see if he stepped on the line or not.
“It’s also possible that you crossed the line,” Eveleigh insisted, unwilling to accept reality.
“Okay, cheating like this is boring. I won, right?”
Bob’s expression was down. He lost? He really lost?
He’d lost to an average Asian man who was 15 centimeters shorter than himself?
“Wait…I don’t accept defeat!” Bob suddenly yelled. “Since we’re going with the official rules, I have another chance.”
Chen shrugged and made an inviting gesture. “As you wish.”
He sat on the side and started counting the wad of cash. Seeing how annoying he was, everyone wanted to beat him up.
Bob jumped again and got 7.42 meters, still not surpassing Chen Zhao’s record. He sat in the sand, unwilling to get up.
He was too hurt. The other students had no time to comfort him either. They were all provoked by Chen Zhao.
After counting the money, Chen Zhao was satisfied. “Not bad, $2,120. Thanks, Eveleigh.”
Eveleigh clenched her jaw and looked at him. Her eyes were filled with a dangerous red light.
“The next challenge is a 10K-meter run. Do you dare?”
“Anyone take bets?” Chen Zhao asked.
Hearing this, Eveleigh felt angry for some reason.
“Grint, you’re up.”
Grint was a slim African American, but when he took his jacket off, everyone saw his lean muscles. He was the type that looked skinny with clothes on and muscular without.
“Grint!” Eveleigh called. “Don’t lose to him.”
“Eveleigh, don’t worry. I won’t lose to an amateur.” As he spoke, he also glanced at Bob. It seemed that they had conflicts too.
“How about 5K?” Chen Zhao asked with a worried expression. “Ten thousand meters is too much. I don’t even know if I can do it.”
“No choice. You either stand at the starting line or surrender.”
“No one’s going to bet? There’s no commotion?” Listless, Chen Zhao continued, “Plus, I just finished jumping. I feel so tired. I need to rest. Wait for half an hour.”
“Rest for half an hour? No way. Get up and run right now.”
“No, I’m tired.”
“I bet $2,000,” Eveleigh said through clenched teeth.
Chen Zhao stood up immediately. “Anyone else want to bet?”
Pete, who’d lost $200 earlier, walked over hesitantly. “You’ll lose this time, right?”
“Please, Asians are horrible at track. Plus, do I look like a professional? I might not even do 5K.”
“Fine, I’ll bet $200 more.” Pete made a difficult decision and took out $200.
“That much?” Chen Zhao furrowed his brows.
“Not allowed?”
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to pay with what I just earned,” Chen Zhao said reluctantly.
“I’m betting too.”
“Me too, $100.”
As expected, these kids were still too naïve. The pieces Chen Zhao got added up to $1,200.
Taking off his jacket, he pushed up his sleeves and did some warmup exercises.
“Go get ready. Grint has been waiting.”
Chen Zhao unwillingly went to the starting line and looked at Grint. “Hey, how about you go easy on me? If I win, I’ll give you half of the money.”
Grint looked at him coldly. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Fine.”
Eveleigh held up the pistol. “Get ready, stop talking.”
She really wanted to aim at Chen Zhao and shoot him in the head.
Bang!
Chen Zhao and Grint started at the same time. Chen Zhao ran shoulder-to-shoulder with Grint, matching his pace.
Grint sneered. Running with him? Didn’t Chen Zhao know what how fit he was?
Grint could keep this speed for the first 3,000 meters. This didn’t mean others could.
Long-distance running was a strategic sport. If you had a good strategy that suited your characteristics, you would get a good result. If you used the wrong strategy, you might not even be able to run 10K meters.
“Go Grint!”
“Go Grint!”
All the students were cheering for Grint. This excited him, but after two laps, he realized that Chen Zhao was still beside him.
He got an idea: trick Chen Zhao.
Thinking of this, Grint sped up. As expected, Chen Zhao sped up too.
Grint snickered inside. Chen Zhao was an amateur and was easily tricked. If he was a professional athlete, he definitely wouldn’t be affected by other athletes and change his strategy.
But after three laps at the increased speed, Chen Zhao was still stuck to Grint. He wasn’t left behind at all. On the other hand, Grint had disturbed his own strategy and his energy went down.
It was okay though. Grint thought that Chen Zhao wouldn’t be able to keep it up. Maybe he’d be exhausted next lap or the one after that.
“Are you tired? Should we stop and rest?”
Grint ignored Chen Zhao. Talking now was basically suicide.
“Oh…so tired. I think I’m going to lay down.”
Chen Zhao was still talking endlessly.
“Can you check if my hair is messed up?”
He fixed his hairstyle as he ran. Grint almost laughed in anger.
“I think after two laps—no, one lap, I’ll be down.” Chen Zhao’s breaths grew heavy. “How do you do it? Why is your breathing still so smooth?”
“Have you been to China? If you have a chance, you must go. It’s a great place…”
“Oh, I saw on T.V. before that you can drink water during a race, right?”
“That’s a marathon,” Grint finally couldn’t help but answer.
“You finally spoke! I thought you’re mute.”
You’re mute! Your whole family is mute!
Grint ignored Chen Zhao. Why hadn’t this *sshole given up yet? Didn’t he say he’d give up in another lap?
